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Reggie Hanson, a member of Kentucky’s prestigious
1,000-point club, is in his fifth season as an
assistant coach at Kentucky.
His duties at his alma mater include off-campus
recruiting and on-court instruction.
Hanson, 36, spent eight years playing professional
basketball. After graduating from UK in 1991 with a
bachelor’s degree in education, the Somerset, Ky.,
native played one season for the Louisville Shooters
of the Global League before spending seven years
playing professionally in Japan. The final six
years, he was both a player and assistant coach. He
spent the last two months of the 1998 season playing
in the NBA for the Boston Celtics.
In 1995, Hanson was the Japan Basketball League’s
leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. In 1996,
he led the JBL in scoring and steals and was named
Defensive Player of the Year. During his JBL career
– which was scheduled to continue prior to his
accepting the coaching position at UK in 2000 –
Hanson averaged 20.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per
game, shooting 51.2 percent from the field, 84.1
percent from the foul line and 36 percent from the
three-point line.
But it was at Kentucky where Hanson endeared himself
to the Wildcat faithful. During his sophomore
season, the program was rocked by an NCAA
investigation. Mass defections and a coaching change
occurred as a two-year penalty was imposed on the
men’s basketball team. That resulted in no
television exposure for one season and no postseason
play for two years. Hanson, with just two years of
eligibility remaining, chose to stay and play for
new coach Rick Pitino and his assistant, Tubby
Smith.
In his senior season, Hanson guided the ’91 Wildcats
to the best record (22-6) in the Southeastern
Conference, though UK was not eligible for the
league title. As team captain that year, he and John
Pelphrey led the Cats in scoring, averaging 14.4 ppg.
He tallied 16.4 ppg in 1990. Entering the 2005
season, he ranks 37th on the all-time scoring list
at UK with 1,167 points. At 6-7, Hanson lettered all
four years – playing center his last two seasons –
and led the team in field goals made (1990),
rebounding (1990, ’91), blocks (1990, ’91) and
steals (1989, ’90).
Hanson’s dedication to the program led Pitino to
rename the team’s sacrifice award — the Reggie
Hanson Sacrifice Award. He also was named All-SEC as
both a junior and senior and earned numerous team
awards including MVP and the Leadership Award his
last two seasons.
Hanson and his wife Lynelle reside in Lexington with
daughters Sakia (15) and Jaitesha (9). |
